


singsong

by inkyvoid (atramento)



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:02:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22666708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atramento/pseuds/inkyvoid
Summary: I, Malik yi Lapaliiya, swear one thing and one thing only; I cannot sing.
Relationships: Jupiter/Malik, Original D&D Character(s)/Original D&D Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	singsong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jaydee_Faire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaydee_Faire/gifts).



> Rewritten to be from Malik's perspective as well as a tighter and more concise plot. Yahoo!

“I am no expert upon the nature of injury, jhasin, but perhaps you should not be exerting yourself so.” I try to keep my voice below the rhythm of the song Jupiter is tapping his foot to. I figure I lowered my voice more than was necessary for he continues to be entranced by the notes that the woman is plucking and singing.. 

Our latest companion is no different. They sway breezily, winding and turning as a cloth caught by wind. Even when bracing their hands on a pole and gliding around, they seemed to rouse a deeper inspiration in the crowd with a grace many others lacked. Unfortunately yours truly is one such graceless clod. I am tired and my bones grow older with aching. 

Placing a soft kiss on Jupiter’s forehead, I retreat away from the lively crowd he and Zephyr have gathered. 

From my bed, I hear the whooping and hollering of the crowd-- and if I listen I can still hear Jupiter’s singing along with the woman. And as much as I wanted to sleep I hear my own voice come low from deep within my chest before I can make my mind to halt. 

I attempt to sing alongside the woman and Jupiter. Every note is halting and unsure but I give the music my best. Yet as I begin to find my place within the tune she has woven, I hear the sudden if familiar sound of flesh hitting flesh. Was there a fight... or could it actually be something more bawdy?

Given that I shortly after hear angry shouting and the sound of someone being tossed out, I figure it was the former. 

Perhaps that is for the best; this village is just coming down from the experience of having been raided by an unusually large hobgoblin party. A party that we three helped fend off, for the only good kind of party is the ones with your friends. 

Sadly, this particular party sounds to be over. I hear grumbles and the sound of wood scraping as it’s no doubt tucked away for a later celebration. It is not too late for me to pretend I was fast asleep by now. And yet...

I begin singing again but with a different song this time. More like humming, really. The melody is no good with my novice voice. 

“Crusted, heinous--!” Ah, that must be Zephyr. They had a way with words I admired even when they were sparing no gentleness for someone. “How dare he touch me while I perform.” 

A laughter rings from between the wood of the stairs and my door. The source is dear Jupiter, as easy and casual as the day we ourselves first met. Such features make him feel timeless. “At least they were quick to throw him out?” A bit more laughter and Zephyr sniffling. 

“I thought I heard singing but it has quieted.” I hear Zephyr’s soft footpads stop before Jupiter’s clicking bootheels pause just behind them. 

“You are certain that was singing and not our thief snoring?” Our thief... I wish I could tease Zephyr about the endearing manner in which they addressed me-- but I have indeed gone quiet out of...

Out of what? Fear? Shame? Perhaps both-- but I could never tell myself honestly.

“ _ Do _ Calimshan people sing?” Jupiter asks outside the door. I can imagine his vaguely bemused expression and how he rubs his chin in thought. “Or rather, I would ask if they have any native songs.” The unspoken  _ songs I could learn _ from his lips made a smile grow upon my face knowing that Jupiter would spend hours if it meant performing each and every song he liked to memory. 

“You have not asked Malik before?” I force myself to stop smiling and to relax as if I have been sleeping and not practicing noisomely instead. 

“Ehhh...” Jupiter walks forward and I hear his hand touch the doorknob. Admittedly I tense again, unable to contain the feverish feeling that the two of them will have discovered me. “Malik has it in his mind that music is only something he enjoys, not something he partakes of.” 

“Ah.” The two are largely silent as the door creaks open and they let themselves in. Surprisingly, this silence endures as they change into more appropriate sleeping wear. 

I have to wonder if it is because Jupiter said he heard me singing or if because they are very tired.

Despite wearing more, Jupiter dresses down faster than Zephyr does and I feel his weight sink onto the bed we are sharing. “Augh, hopefully I sleep well tonight...” Jupiter pops his shoulders in a stretch before fully lying prone on our bed. “We have a lot of travelling ahead.” 

“Suzail, right?” Zephyr is no doubt sitting politely even onto their own bed as I hear them pull their headdress off in the darkness of our room. 

“Right... and possibly Minroe if we manage our time well.” Jupiter’s voice is slightly muffled as he pulls blankets over himself. “Not too much trouble to cause in either but we  _ should  _ check in on those deliveries.” I admit as well now that it is easier to relax when others are talking. Conversation is its own lullaby, so long as it is not too fast or loud. And Jupiter’s voice is soothing enough on its own...

...but eventually the voices of my companions taper off and we settle in for what should be a good long rest. But yours truly, once more I am shameful to admit that the urge to sing remained tucked in my chest and throat. Infected I was by the odd notion that I could sing when I, in fact, cannot. 

My even more quiet second attempt is interrupted by Jupiter turning to face me as I hum; his eyes are peering at me from under the barest sliver where his eyelids have not quite closed. 

“Malik, you  _ were  _ singing...” Jupiter remarked sleepily. I hear him yawn and gently take one of his hands to rub my thumb over the top of the hand. “I was right...” 

“Yes.” My admission of guilt is soft and easy, punctuated further by the smile drifting back. 

Jupiter’s smile is more faint. “You should sing more often. Practice makes perfect.” He mumbles, his breath warming against my face as I turn more to face him. His eyes close. 

“I may perhaps...” I too yawn, infected by the overall lull within the room. “...one day while we aren’t adventuring so often.” 

Jupiter chuckles as I curl up closer. “I’d like to hear that.” 


End file.
